Sombra took a deep, refreshing breath as he trotted through a grassland alongside his charges. Having lived in a mostly urban environment, it was rare for him to see such vast expanses of nature in his life. It was an incredible feeling, even if he was covered in armor, with the unpolluted wind brushing against his face.

The former human briefly closed his eyes in contentment, enjoying the serenity of it all. Or at least, until he was dragged back to reality by the tapping of a hoof on his greave.

Reluctantly, he opened his eyes, and was met with the sight of a startled Sunny.

The earth pony chuckled warily, "Sorry! I just... wanted to ask about earlier I-if you don't mind, that is!"

He held back a sigh. It was good that she's not too afraid of him, but it was a whole lot better when she was totally oblivious to his new identity. At least she would've been more confident when addressing him.

"About your Grand Quest, or Equestria's past?"

"Uh... yes?"

The armored pony turned towards the distance, noting Izzy skipping up ahead.

"Where do you want me to begin?"

Sunny looked down in thought, before looking towards him again, "Start with the whole... 'Grand Quest' thing. I didn't get what you meant by, well, all of that."

Sombra nodded, "You see, Sunny Starsc-"

"Just 'Sunny', please."

He paused for a moment, before giving her another nod, "You see, Sunny. From what I understand... you, as well as Izzy, your old friend Hitch, and the two princesses of the pegasi are destined to reunite the three pony tribes and return magic back to Equestria.

"Harmony has chosen the five of you specifically to be its representatives, just as Twilight Sparkle and her friends were oh-so-long ago. With you, standing in the forefront as their leading figure and Equestria's guiding light."

'I'll tell her about Misty once we get Magic back...'

The earth pony shook her head lightly, "But... why me? Why us? Aren't there other ponies out there who'd be more, uh, qualified?"

The shadow-unicorn chuckled, "The answer is quite simple, actually. Out of all that remains of your respective tribes, you were the only ones who believed. You believed that peace and friendship amongst the three tribes would bring forth a brighter future, you believed that there was more to your fellow ponies beyond those terrible myths, you believed in the legacy left behind by your forebears and strived to keep it alive."

Sombra turned to her, his gaze looking oddly forlorn, "You, Sunny Starscout, are destined to become something greater than you could ever have imagined."

A moment of silence passed between them as they continued their trot through the grassland, said silence only broken by Izzy's occasional humming. Sunny let the information settle in her mind and mulled it over. Her? A leader? She would've doubted such a bold statement if it wasn't for the fact that the pony who told her this being a walking, talking relic.

The earth pony heaved a sigh, "And... where do you fit into everything?"

"To guide you, I suppose." the shadow pony answered. Sunny felt like there was a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

She raised an eyebrow, "'You suppose'?"

'Should I even... eh, it's not like she knows.'

He glanced towards her, but kept his head forwards, "I was... brought here. I don't remember much of what happened before I was, ah, 'temporally displaced', but I do know that Harmony has given me quite a fair bit of knowledge of this era. It is my personal belief that I have been given a purpose, and that purpose is to guide you, the new generation of Harmony's Chosen. Why else would I be given such knowledge?"

'Take a few liberties for some pizzazz.'

Sunny nodded, "Huh... alright then."

The two continued to trot in silence, watching Izzy continue to mind her own business while prancing around them. That is until Sunny abruptly stopped, nearly toppling over as a result.

"Wait, where exactly are we going? Have we been wandering about in the middle of nowhere?"

Izzy giggled as she passed by the earth pony once more, "Oh! Aren't we making our way to the pegasus city?"

Sunny looked at her with confusion, "Huh?"

Sombra nodded in agreement, "Izzy is correct." he pointed towards a mountain range in the distance, a part of a metallic structure peeked through the thick clouds, "And we've been making good time. We may need to rest for the night, however, the sun is quickly setting."

He tapped a hoof to his chin, "I wonder if that means Celestia is still out there somewhere? I doubt they passed from old age."

Sunny gave him a curious look, "Celestia? You mean the ruler of Equestria before Princess Twilight? What does she have to do with the sun?"

Now that got Sombra's attention, how could she not know?

"This is... concerning. You don't know about Celestia's, er, 'main characteristic'? One of her primary roles as an alicorn?"

The earth pony scratched her head, "Um, I know she's associated with the sun. I remember my dad saying that she used to raise the sun? But I doubt she actually did..."

Sombra shook his head, "Your father was correct, actually. Both Celestia and her sister Luna were the co-rulers of Equestria before they passed it down to Twilight."

He gestured a hoof towards the sky, "Alongside ruling the entire nation, they were also responsible for raising the sun and moon respectively. They possessed incredible amounts of magical power. Why, if they wanted to, they could leave either celestial bodies in the sky permanently, causing an apocalyptic event."

Glancing back towards Sunny showed the earth pony fervently writing on her notebook. The former human had a feeling this'll be a common affair, and smiled inwardly. Slowly but surely, he'll make sure their history will be remembered properly.

"What in the..."

Princess Zephryna Storm—referrred to by her friends and family as 'Zipp'—muttered as she saw an oddly clothed unicorn materialize out of a cloud of smoke, along with an earth pony and another unicorn who were... floating?

'Looks like this day just got a whole lot more interesting.' she thought to herself.

Curious, she hopped off from her spot and glided down closer to the mysterious group. Just what would an earth pony and two unicorns be doing up here?

The pegasus hid herself behind a large boulder and turned her ears towards the visitors.

"...should be meeting one of the princesses around here somewhere."

'One of the princesses? Are they talking about... me?'

Shaking her head, Zipp wondered if she should take a better peek of the trio. Whoever these ponies were, they seem to be more than a group of lost travellers.

"Helloooooo! Princess! Are ya there?! We-mph!"

She jumped as one of the unicorns yelled. Looks like they're really looking for her now.

She huffed, "Alright... let's see where this goes."

Slowly, Sombra lowered his hoof from Izzy's mouth. His eyes frantically looked around the rocky terrain as he did so.

"Don't! We need to have her come to us naturally. She'll likely be less accepting of our presence if we just... go after her!"

The energetic unicorn briefly held a blank look before she gave him an apologetic smile.

"Sorry!"

He held back an admittedly rude remark and let out a sigh, "Just... wait for her to-"

"Um, King Sombra?"

The dark unicorn turned to Sunny with a raised eyebrow.

"You can just call me 'Sombra'."

She replied with a slight nod. Sombra noticed that she seemed a bit distracted, and brushed it off as her being excited about visiting the city of pegasi.

"Oh, er... alright then." the earth pony pointed a hoof beyond him, "You might want to turn around, though."

Sombra gave her a confused look, but complied anyway. He steadily turned his head around, and let out a startled noise when he saw a pony standing only a few feet behind him.

"Gah!"

Izzy quickly skipped in front of the startled shadow-pony with a big, friendly smile plastered on her face.

"Hi there! Are you a princess?"

The pony, who appeared to be a pegasus, examined the trio with a curious look before nodding slowly.

"Yeah. Looking for me?" she replied coolly.

Sombra gently pulled back Izzy with his magic and placed her beside Sunny as he stepped up to meet her.

"You are Princess Zephryna Storm, eldest daughter of Queen Haven as well as the heir to the throne, yes?"

The pegasus raised an eyebrow, "Uh-huh? Haven't answered my question, though."

Sombra quickly nodded, "Ah, yes, well, you see-"

It was then that the sound of clanking metal boots made itself known. Zipp whipped her head around, and saw two guards quickly approaching.

"Uh, hold that thought."

She quickly ran past the trio, almost knocking over Sunny in the process. The princess briefly looked back at them with a stern expression.

"Don't tell them you saw me."

She then immediately dove down from the edge of the cliff, disappearing into the clouds below.

Sunny took a step to go after her, but was stopped by Sombra's magic. The armored pony then cleared his throat before tilting his head towards the approaching guards.

The earth pony's face brightened. Looks like this is her chance to interview these pegasi!

Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum, Sombra stifled an irritated grunt. What is it with these ponies and interrupting him?

Author's Note

Right! So after this, I'll be back to Fire Horse!

Sombra's willing to get constantly pelted by questions, if it means making sure Equestria's history is remembered correctly.

Looks like it's time for the Royals to meet as well!

If you want to share ideas on how this story should go, consider commenting!

Corrections and criticisms are more than welcome, I can't improve without those now, can I?
Have a good existence!
:)

"Remembered forever, the land of Equestria"